Larry Haeg Sr.

The success of WCCO Minneapolis/Saint Paul through the years owes much to the leadership of Larry Haeg, Sr., who helped the station become the “Good Neighbor to the Northwest.”

Born in 1908, he attended the University of Minnesota College of Agriculture, and took over the family farm during the Great Depression before joining President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Agricultural Adjustment Association. In 1940 he was elected to the Minnesota State Legislature and served for twelve years. In 1942 he joined WCCO as the station’s first farm service director. His early morning and noontime broadcasts of farm news, markets, weather, and interviews helped develop the station’s connection to rural communities throughout the region, as did his efforts to create the station’s live presence at the Minnesota State Fair. He led the founding of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters and became its first president. In 1952 he became general manager of WCCO, which under his leadership grew to become one of the most successful radio stations in the country. He became president of WCCO in 1969. He retired in 1976, but continued as a director of the parent company until his death in 1982.